She would just have to pretend that she didn’t know he’d sacrificed so much of his life to raise his sister, a sister he still felt responsible for. She’d have to pretend she didn’t know exactly what he looked like under those perfectly tailored business suits.
Of course, it wasn’t any kind of challenge for Gage. Temporary sexual relationships were par for the course for him. Which was one reason she’d decided to give a sexual relationship with him a try, so having an issue with it now was just contrary.
“All right, Gage, but it makes my job easier when you do as I advise you to do.”
“I gave you my permission to make the announcement about the sanctuary,” he said, his voice conveying just how unconcerned he was.
“Yes,” she said tightly, “and it’s helped. As I knew it would. Letting people run stories about you that are full of conjecture and false information isn’t right.”
“Of course, you have no trouble feeding the press false information.”
She gave him a steely glare. “They had false information to begin with. And you didn’t have a problem with it, either.”
“To protect Madeline? Of course not. And we’re going to continue on Saturday.”
“Oh, really?” Her heart sped up.
“Yes. A very valuable client’s daughter is getting married and holding the reception at the San Diego Forrester tomorrow. I’ve been asked to make an appearance, and of course that means my lovely fiancée should be on my arm.”
She looked down at the ring that still glinted on her left hand, her entire body getting stiff with tension. It had been one thing to play happy couple with Gage before they’d been … intimate together. But it was quite another thing to try and pull off when that segment of their relationship was over.
She would have to touch him. Hold his hand. Maybe kiss him.
They hadn’t held hands in Thailand. Not casually, not by themselves. It was an odd realization, and it was even stranger that she cared. It was simply a telling example of what their relationship had been. Purely sexual. Those little gestures that actual couples used to convey affection didn’t apply to their four-day fling.
“Okay, that works for me.” It did. It would. It had to. It was her job to protect Gage’s image, and if she didn’t go with him, questions might come up, which meant she had to go with him, and she had to turn in the performance of a lifetime.
It had meant buying a new dress—a short, black one with a low V-neckline that had a slight ruffle to help conceal some of the cleavage that the dress put on display—but when she walked into the San Diego Forrester on Gage’s arm, her engagement ring sparkling in the overhead lighting, she felt like she belonged there. Like she belonged with Gage.
It was a dangerous feeling, but it was one she had to embrace, at least for the night. There was no other option. Tonight she was Gage Forrester’s fiancée. She would try not to focus on the fact that she was really Gage Forrester’s discarded leftovers.
Who asked to be discarded.
She took a deep breath and tried to rid herself of the tightness in her chest.
The hotel was decorated beautifully, every table covered with a crimson tablecloth, white orchids in white vases acting as centerpieces. And the tablecloths matched her shoes, which was a very nice and convenient surprise.
Maybe if she focused on that she would survive the evening with some semblance of sanity intact.
Gage put his arm around her waist the moment they fully entered the reception area and she had to fight the urge to melt against him. It was so strange, how natural it was to want that. How easy it was to want to lean on him.
She managed to stop herself. She wasn’t about to cling to him, even if his touch did feel better than she remembered. And he smelled amazing. She’d always noticed that about him, from the very first time they’d met. But it was different now, more intimate. Now she picked up on the subtle scent of his skin … clean, but beneath the scent of soap and aftershave, the slight musk of his skin. She could pick it out so easily now, now that she’d been so close to him, now that she knew just how his skin tasted.
The thought made her want to moan out loud, but she managed to hold it back.
Gage sought out the father of the bride and he introduced Lily as his fiancée, then talked to the man for a while about the reception, and offered a free round of drinks. After that, he was fielding requests to hold events at the hotel from every third guest they encountered.
“That was clever,” Lily said as they took their seat at their own private table.
“My hotels are popular for a reason.”
“You know how to give good service,” she said lightly, not realizing the undercurrent in her words until it was too late. And then their eyes met and her stomach tightened.
She licked her lips, but as soon as she slicked her tongue across them they were dry again. She wondered if he could see the signs of her arousal. He knew her so well in that way. She could see his. His eyes darkened, a muscle in his jaw jumped, his hand tightening around his wineglass. He wanted her, too, even though their fling was over.
He’d been cool on the plane ride back to the U.S. and in the office over the past week, but it had been a show. She’d assumed he was done with her, that he’d consigned their affair to a pleasant memory and hadn’t thought of her that way, hadn’t wanted her, since the moment they’d left Thailand.
“I meant, your customer service is outstanding,” she said tightly, trying to ignore the pounding of her pulse and the rush of blood that was making her body feel ultrasensitive.
“Of course,” he said, his voice rough, his arousal obvious to her.
“This is really beautiful,” she said, trying to recover from her foot-in-mouth moment.
“Yes, it is.” His eyes were fixed on her, his gaze lingering on the swell of her breasts. She’d chosen the dress partly for that reason, she was ashamed to admit. She’d told him once that she didn’t pick her clothes based on someone else’s desires, but she had today. She knew that he liked her figure, and she’d set out to elicit a response from him.
But it was so frustrating, seeing him the office, burning for him, while he seemed to feel nothing but professional courtesy. She was frustrated with him, and she was frustrated with herself. She didn’t know what she wanted, didn’t know what response the wanted him to give her. She just knew she was unhappy, that at night her bed felt cold and empty. That she no longer found solace in her beachfront apartment and her solitude.
“Gage …”
He reached across the table and captured her hand in his, stroking it lightly with his fingers. She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, electricity sparking in her body, her heart beating double time, everything in her shaking with desire.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about you, Lily. About our time in Thailand.”
“Don’t,” she said sharply, pulling her hand back and putting it in her lap.
“You tried to deny the attraction between us before, Lily, and it couldn’t be done.”
She swallowed hard. “We can ignore it. I can ignore it.”
He looked at her, those blue eyes more temptation than she could handle. “But do you want to ignore it?”
“No,” she whispered.
“Then what do you want?”
He was going to make her say it. For the first time in her life she wished someone would make things easy for her. That he would just sweep her into his arms and carry her up to one of the suites. But he was making her choose. He was leaving the consequences up to her, which meant that later, she wouldn’t be able to blame him if things exploded on them.
“I want you,” she said, her voice low, “but I don’t want to want you.”
“That does amazing things for my ego, sweetheart,” he said, offering her a slight smile.
Her heart tripped and a short laugh escaped her lips. “You know I’m not into ego stroking, Gage.”
“That’s a shame.” Their eyes caught and held, ten
sion and electricity arcing between them.
“One more night.” Her words were rushed, the blood roaring in her ears.
“One more night,” he said, standing from the table, taking her hand and drawing her up with him.
“Isn’t it rude to leave this early?” She cast a backward glance at the full reception, at the cake that had yet to be cut.
“It’s not as rude as my stripping your dress off of you and having my way with you in front of all those nice people would be.”
They headed down one of the long hallways to a row of elevators.
“You wouldn’t do that,” she said, going for censorious, but only managing breathless.
“I never thought I would, Lily, but you make me feel things.” He trailed off and stopped walking, turning her so that her back was to the wall. He stepped in, put his hands on her waist and leaned in, taking her mouth, devouring her as though he was starving. “You make me do things,” he said. “I don’t know myself sometimes when I’m with you.”
“Same here,” she said weakly, the wall and Gage’s hands the only thing keeping her from sliding to the carpeted floor.
“My apartment is here,” he said, “at the hotel.”
“Really?”
“It made things easier to manage, especially in the beginning. I’ve never left.” He punched the “up arrow” button on the wall and the elevator doors slid open. “Spend the night with me.”
“Yes.”
He stepped into the elevator and pulled her in with him, holding her tightly against his body, kissing her neck softly.
“Gage,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him and taking his lips with hers. She’d missed him, much more than she’d realized, much more than she wanted to face.
He backed her up against the wall, the kiss growing urgent, hungry. She gripped the knot of his tie and jerked it hard to the side, loosening it so that she could reach the top button of his dress shirt and unfasten it with her shaking fingers.
She slid her hand inside his shirt, curling her fingers when she came into contact with his hot, hard flesh. He growled and gripped her hips, drawing her tightly against him. There was no restraint in him this time. Always before, he’d held back, but now he was unleashed and she was experiencing the full force of his desire. She gripped the edges of his shirt and tugged, sending buttons scattering across the elevator floor.
She slid her hands down his stomach, over his perfect ab muscles. He was so beautiful to her. Her heart thundered and she felt an intense well of emotion stir in her stomach, mingling with the intense desire to have him inside of her, to be joined to him again.
Gage gripped the sides of her dress and bunched it up in his hands, and Lily felt the hem rise higher. “Are you trying to kill me, Lily?” he groaned when his hands made contact with the bare space of skin between her black thigh-high stockings and her thong panties.
“That wasn’t my goal. If you’re dead you’ll be of no use to me.”
He laughed wickedly and kissed the curve of her neck, his fingers edging beneath the thin fabric of her underwear. She gasped when he moved his fingers over her clitoris.
“Is that good?” he asked, his lips brushing against her sensitized skin.
She could only nod as he continued to work magic on her with his hands. He slid one finger inside of her and felt a surge of pleasure, a tightening in her pelvis that she knew meant her climax was about to crash in on her.
“Come for me,” he whispered, adding a second finger, and she was powerless to do anything but obey.
She gripped his shoulders, her hands still beneath his destroyed shirt, her nails grazing his sweat-slicked back.
When she finally came back to reality she realized they were still in the elevator.
“I stopped it,” he said, gesturing to the control panel.
She adjusted her dress and patted her hair with a shaking hand. “Good.” She had forgotten. She’d forgotten everything but how much she wanted him. She’d forgotten self-preservation, common decency, everything.
And she couldn’t regret it. Not yet. Because even though her body was still tingling with the aftereffects of her orgasm, she wanted more. She wanted him. All of him.
He pushed the button for the top floor and the elevator began to move again. When they reached the top floor he keyed in a code and the doors slid open, revealing an extremely masculine, modern apartment space.
She stepped out of the lift on wobbly legs. She felt a slight smile tug at the corners of her mouth. The whole place was very Gage. Furniture with clean lines, neutrals accentuated by pops of color that reminded her of the beach. It was beautiful and opulent, and surprisingly functional.
It felt more intimate now, being in his home. It was one thing to have an affair at a vacation spot, but another to actually come into where he lived. To sleep in his bed.
Panic nibbled at her, her stomach about to explode in a flurry of nerves. But then Gage put his arm around her and dipped his head to give her a light kiss on the lips, and she couldn’t worry anymore. Relationships, feelings, commitment, all of it scared her, made her want to run. But Gage didn’t. Somehow, no matter what the feelings between them were, she couldn’t be afraid of him.
“Would you like something to drink?”
She laughed. “Not yet. We have unfinished business.” She looked at him, at his gaping shirt that was still tucked into his slacks. “I like the look,” she said.
“I was attacked by a shameless hussy in an elevator,” he said, taking her hand and leading her down the hallway.
He had pictures on his wall. School pictures of Maddy. Her high school and graduation pictures. It hit her again what a wonderful man he was, the things that he chose to hide. Part of her wanted to find out everything, but so much of her wanted to ignore everything she already knew, and didn’t want to find out any more. This was about sexual satisfaction, a slight extension on their fling’s deadline. This wasn’t about finding out what an incredible person he was.
His bedroom was a definite man cave. A large bed, wall-mounted TV and very little else. Not the den of seduction she’d always imagined. She’d sort of thought he might be the type to have a Jacuzzi tub and a stripper pole in the middle of his bedroom. She was relieved to see she’d been wrong. Not that it should matter.
He shrugged his shirt off and tossed it onto the floor, his slacks and underwear following. She reached around to grab the zipper tab on her dress.
“Wait a second,” he said, coming toward her. “Let me.”
He turned her around gently so that she was facing away from him, his hands possessive on her hips. She leaned back against him, reveling in his heat, his strength. In him.
He slid his hands up beneath her dress and gripped her panties, dragging them down her legs. She stepped out of them and kicked them aside, trying to make sure they didn’t get caught on her heels.
He moved his hands to her waist, slid them over her hips, back up to her breasts, not really touching, not the way she wanted. It was as though he was tracing her curves, memorizing her shape.
Then he slowly pulled the zipper down and she let her dress fall to the floor. A masculine groan of appreciation rumbled in his chest. “You’re gorgeous,” he groaned. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ll never get enough of looking at you.”
Her heart thundered, her body quivering with desire. “Gage,” she choked out.
“Get on the bed,” he said, his voice rough, commanding, thrilling.
She complied, trying to turn and face him.
“No,” he said, moving behind her and taking one of the pillows from the head of the bed, then another, stacking them and moving her over them so that her upper body had some support.
Her blood rushed through her veins, hotter, faster. She knew what he was going to do, and it thrilled her, excited her and frightened her, all at the same time.
“Do you trust me, sweetheart?”
She could only nod, the lump in her
throat too much for her to speak past. But she did trust him. In this moment she did. She was giving him more than she’d ever given to anyone else, and as much as it scared her, it also felt as necessary as breathing.
She heard him tearing a condom packet, protecting them both, as he always did. She was grateful for that. She knew a lot of men didn’t care enough to do that, but Gage never acted as though it was a sacrifice, as though it should be up to her.
She felt the blunt head of his erection probing her slick entrance.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she managed to choke out.
He thrust inside of her, deep, deeper than she’d ever felt him before. She curled her fingers around the bedspread, trying to hold back the hoarse cry of pleasure that was climbing her throat.
He held her hips tightly, his movements strong and sure, nothing tentative about his claiming of her body. Because that was what it felt like. It was more elemental than their other times together, and in a lot of ways, she had less control. She was at his mercy, and yet she couldn’t be afraid of him, and he wasn’t harming her, he was only giving to her. Giving her pleasure while he took his own. While they shared in it.
He reached around and stroked the source of her desire. Already she could feel another orgasm building, this one stronger, more intense. She whimpered, and clenched the comforter tighter, the tension too much for her to bear because she knew when it broke she would shatter with it.
She felt his muscles start to shake, felt his fingers dig into her hips. He was close, too.
“Lily,” he said, as he went over the edge.
His fingers worked her faster and she followed him, her body tightening around him as he pulsed inside of her. Their orgasm went on and on, blended together until she was sure they were feeling the same thing. Until it almost felt as though they were one body.
And when it was over, he turned her and took her in his arms so that she was facing him, so that he could brush her hair out of her face, his other hand continually sliding over her curves.
Desert Jewels & Rising Stars Page 275